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Khushboo Razdan

US president-elect Donald Trump has sent a strong signal of intervention in the TikTok battle, hours after a ban on the short-video app took effect.
“SAVE TIKTOK!” Trump posted on social media on Sunday morning, US Eastern time.
Trump’s advisor and owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk, also posted an hour later, calling it “unbalanced” for TikTok to operate in the US while X is banned in China.
“I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech,” Musk, also the world’s richest man, said on X.
He added, however, that “the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China, is unbalanced.”
The comments came hours after TikTok “temporarily” suspended its services in the United States, following the Supreme Court’s approval of a law requiring the app to sever ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance, or face a ban.
The law took effect at midnight on Sunday, US Eastern time.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now”, the company said in a pop-up notification.
As a result, TikTok’s 170 million US users have lost access to the platform entirely, while Apple and Google have also removed the app from their stores.
Under the law, platforms such as these app stores, as well as internet hosting providers, could face penalties of up to US$5,000 per user if they continue to offer TikTok after the divestment deadline expires.
Congress passed the TikTok bill last April, and it was signed into law by departing US President Joe Biden.
Biden, whose term ends on Monday, has opted not to enforce the ban, leaving the incoming administration of Donald Trump to resolve the issue. The White House on Friday stated that there was insufficient time left in his term of office to ensure implementation and compliance.
TikTok, however, criticised the Biden administration for failing to provide “the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans”.
“Unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately, TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the company said on Friday.


TikTok’s notification to users also said: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Trump takes office on Monday, and has vowed to address the issue through “political means” in an effort to “save” TikTok.
On Saturday, the US president-elect stated that he would “most likely” extend the divestiture deadline by 90 days, calling the potential delay “appropriate”.
“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump told NBC. “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
Separately, CNBC reported that Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine start-up, has submitted a bid to TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to create a new merged entity. According to reports, the merger could allow TikTok to continue operating in the US.
Launched with an initial valuation of US$500 million, Perplexity AI is currently facing lawsuits from two news organisations over copyright infringement. Despite these legal challenges, the start-up ended 2024 with a valuation of around US$9 billion.
Since its introduction to the US market in 2016, TikTok has quickly become the leading platform for young Americans seeking entertainment, news, community, and business opportunities, challenging American competitors such as Instagram and YouTube.
No other social media app has yet managed to replicate TikTok’s viral, algorithm-driven success in the US.
Content creators who have built their careers on TikTok posted their final messages before the ban took effect, hoping the app would be back by Monday when Trump takes office. However, some are left wondering how the platform will fare under new ownership.
“I don’t mean to jinx it, but I literally mean ‘see you next week’,” influencer “Ethan on Everything,” who has over 400,000 followers, said on Saturday evening.
“I actually thought I was going to have to do a sappy goodbye, but to be honest, I don’t think we’ll be gone for more than two days.”
With TikTok’s disappearance, thousands of users are flocking to RedNote, another Chinese-owned app. However, RedNote faces a challenging task in replicating TikTok’s level of engagement in the US, as it is subject to China’s content regulations, unlike TikTok US.

Jason, a Virginia-based creator who made US$2 million last year from advertising mobile games on TikTok, expressed concerns that a new owner might alter the algorithm that made the platform so effective.
He viewed joining RedNote as more of a protest move than a viable alternative, but remained hopeful that Trump could resolve the uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future, a challenge that has plagued the app for years.
“I voted for Trump partly because of TikTok,” Jason said, speaking as he joined a group of content creators protesting outside the US Supreme Court on Saturday.
“If we get past this [ban attempt], I think we’re good for at least the next four years.”
The ban comes amid concerns about national security risks linked to TikTok’s data collection practices and if the data could be used by China against US interests.
Critics of the ban argue that the move represents an overreach of government power and a threat to free speech, particularly given the minimal evidence presented regarding security threats.
The US Supreme Court on Friday issued an opinion saying “there is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community”.
“But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” it added.
TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi responded to the court’s ruling in the 10-month-long legal battle, saying the company had been “fighting to protect the constitutional right of free speech for the more than 170 million Americans who use our platform every day to connect, create, discover and achieve their dreams”.
Chew, who met US president-elect Trump on December 16, thanked him “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States”.
He added that Trump “truly” understood the platform – as “one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process”.

During his first term, Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok in the US in 2020. The action was struck down by a federal court after a group of content creators challenged it for violating their free speech rights.
But during last year’s presidential campaign, Trump changed his stance and pledged to save the platform, a move that has been linked to billionaire conservative donor Jeff Yass, whose company reportedly has a 15 per cent stake in ByteDance.
“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,” Trump said last year.
After winning the election in November, Trump said TikTok had a “warm spot” in his heart, hailing the platform for boosting his connection with young voters.
Last month, he urged the Supreme Court to halt the ban, saying that voters had given him a mandate to protect their free-speech rights and that he could find a resolution through “political means”.
On Friday, after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone, the president-elect posted on his Truth Social account that they had discussed TikTok, among other issues.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump said, reacting to the Supreme Court ruling.
Additional reporting by Bochen Han in Washington


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US-China relations

‘Save TikTok’, Trump posts, hours after app suspends US service as ban takes effect

Chinese social media platform TikTok faces an imminent shutdown in the United States after Congress passed a law last year forcing its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell the platform or close it by January 19, 2025. Photo: AFP

TikTok’s message to American users. Photo: TikTok

A faux funeral for TikTok is held at a New York City park on Friday, after the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the ban on the app was constitutional. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

TikTok sell-or-ban law is upheld by US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court has ruled that a law forcing the sale or ban of TikTok is constitutional. Photo  illustration: Reuters 

How a TikTok ban in the US would work – and why user workarounds won’t

A person holds a TikTok sign in New York City’s Washington Square Park on January 14.TikTok could face a ban on January 19 due to a law requiring the platform to sever ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance, or cease its US operations.  Photo: AFP

Supporters of Tiktok livestream in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington DC on January 10. Photo: AFP

The ByteDance office, parent company of TikTok, in San Jose, California. The ban results from an April law signed by President Joe Biden and is the first time the US has attempted to shut down access to an app with such a large user base. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, has vowed to address the TikTok ban issue through ‘political means’


Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, has vowed to address the TikTok ban issue through ‘political means’.
